RPSGT Professional Standards & Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient requests a copy of their polysomnography report to share with a family member. What is the correct action?
- Provide the report immediately without documentation
- Obtain a signed authorization from the patient before releasing records (Correct answer)
- Refuse because sleep records are never shareable
- Send the report directly to the family member without patient involvement
Correct answer: Obtain a signed authorization from the patient before releasing records
HIPAA requires a signed authorization from the patient before releasing protected health information to third parties.
Question 2: Which organization is responsible for credentialing Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (RPSGTs)?
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM)
- Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) (Correct answer)
- American Sleep Association (ASA)
- National Sleep Foundation (NSF)
Correct answer: Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT)
The BRPT administers the RPSGT credential and maintains standards for polysomnographic technologists.
Question 3: During a sleep study, you discover a patient's prescribed CPAP pressure appears ineffective but you are not authorized to adjust it. What should you do?
- Adjust the pressure based on your clinical judgment
- Document your observations and notify the supervising physician (Correct answer)
- Discontinue the study and send the patient home
- Do nothing since it is not within your scope to observe such issues
Correct answer: Document your observations and notify the supervising physician
Technologists must operate within their scope of practice by documenting findings and escalating clinical concerns to the supervising physician.
Question 4: An RPSGT applicant falsifies continuing education credits on their recertification application. This is considered:
- A minor administrative error
- Fraud and grounds for credential revocation (Correct answer)
- Acceptable if the applicant plans to complete the credits later
- A violation only if the BRPT discovers it independently
Correct answer: Fraud and grounds for credential revocation
Falsifying credentials or CE records constitutes fraud and is grounds for disciplinary action including credential revocation by the BRPT.
Question 5: A colleague asks you to sign off on a patient's study that you did not perform. You should:
- Sign it as a professional courtesy
- Refuse and report the request to your supervisor (Correct answer)
- Sign it only if you reviewed the raw data afterward
- Sign it with a note that you were not present
Correct answer: Refuse and report the request to your supervisor
Signing records for studies you did not perform is fraudulent and violates professional ethics; it must be refused and reported.
Question 6: Which principle of biomedical ethics requires the sleep technologist to act in the best interest of the patient?
- Autonomy
- Justice
- Beneficence (Correct answer)
- Non-maleficence
Correct answer: Beneficence
Beneficence means actively doing good and promoting the patient's well-being, which is a core obligation for healthcare professionals.
Question 7: A patient with suspected sleep apnea refuses CPAP therapy after receiving test results. The technologist should:
- Insist the patient accept CPAP because it is medically necessary
- Respect the patient's decision and document the refusal (Correct answer)
- Contact the patient's family to override the decision
- Withhold future services until the patient complies
Correct answer: Respect the patient's decision and document the refusal
Patient autonomy means competent adults have the right to refuse treatment; technologists must respect and document this decision.
RPSGT Professional Standards & Ethics 2
A patient requests a copy of their polysomnography report to share with a family member.
What is the correct action?